Word: parpalaid
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Dates: during 1957-1957
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...Knock, who exchanges his practice in Lyons for that of Dr. Parpalaid in the village of St. Maurice, quickly finds that not only are his patients virtually non-existent, but also that the few he possesses have already paid their bills (which they do annually) to his predecessor. By a series of "free" consultations and by engaging the support of influential citizens, however, Knock buffaloes the rural characters with a bewildering description of their maladies. No one escapes the cryptic medical language and anatomical charts which the doctor employs to convince the strapping citizens of their multiple ills...
...Then Parpalaid, disillusioned with city life, returns only to find his favorite hangout, the village hotel, now turned into a bustling hospital. Parpalaid begs Knock to reveal his secret, which is what the charlatan terms the "science of medicine." Romains is deadly serious in his concern with modern man's susceptibility to pseudo-scientific worship, and Knock's final manipulations of Parpalaid result in an ironic and completely unsentimental ending...
...first act, though awkwardly staged around an automobile resembling a behemoth bathtub, was saved by the amusing inefficiency of the duffer Parpalaid (played by Sobert Dargie) and the witty, if sometimes forced, interpretation of his hayseed wife played by Priscilla Foley...